If you want to attract good talent to your organization, you’ve got to get your website messaging right. Think of your site as your company’s front door. The right message can be the difference between a candidate staying or turning around.
To attract great employees, highlight the wrong you’re going to right in the world, and invite folks into that. It doesn’t matter if the problem you’re solving seems lofty or boring. What matters is that you identify the problem (and solution) and communicate it with crystal clarity. And the way to do this is to share your Guiding Principles.
What are guiding principles?
Guiding principles are statements that clarify what’s important to you and how you act upon these values. There are five components:
1. Mission Statement
We’re all familiar with mission statements (and, if you’re like us, you sometimes roll your eyes at them). To craft a mission statement that actually inspires, make sure it uses plain language, is memorable, and outlines a real problem and solution.
2. Key Characteristics
These should be bullet points that describe the kinds of people who work at your company.
3. Critical Actions
Critical Actions describe what it will be like to work with you. What specific things do people do to accomplish your mission?
4. Story Pitch
This is a (slightly) longer explanation of the value that your company provides. It should have all the elements of a great story: setup, a real problem, a solution, and the result.
5. Theme
Your Theme should be your most memorable statement of what you do. It’s a chance to paint a picture of what it all means.
Example: Full Windsor’s Guiding Principles
To illustrate what all this looks like, we thought we’d pull the curtain back and share our very own Guiding Principles.
Mission StatementWhy do we exist? To abolish confusing websites by transforming them into clear, easy-to-use tools for business owners. |
Key CharacteristicsWhat are people who work here like? Empathetic: We mentally put ourselves in the shoes of people using our websites. Playful: We seek to engage in deep play by remaining curious, experimental, and accepting. Clear: We believe the best experiences both inform and delight. |
Critical ActionsWhat’s it like to work here? We use exclamation marks: We express positivity when communicating with clients and each other. We learn: We are constantly learning new coding techniques and best practices. We’re wise with our processes: We regularly follow and revise our company systems. |
Story PitchWhat value do we bring the people we serve? Business owners and marketers lack the tools and knowledge to make their website work exactly the way they need. This causes a lot of frustration and leaves them feeling inadequate, like they are unable to do their job well. They know what they need their website to do but their hands are tied. That’s why we offer design and development services that bring people’s ideas to life and make their website work better for their team and customers. Our clients no longer have to fight their website. Instead they rest easy knowing it will work for them, not against them. |
ThemeWhy is our mission important? Every business deserves a website that empowers its people to do their best work. Websites are for people. |
Make it visual
A bonus tip on top of all this: When implementing this on your own website, don’t just share your Guiding Principles as plain text. To get your message across, good design and imagery is essential! Among other things, this means establishing a good visual hierarchy and creatively varying the layouts you choose.
Bring the right people on board
People are drawn to confidence. By communicating clearly what you’re all about and how you’ll get there, your organization becomes a place others want to be a part of.
Hire us to build your Careers page
Credit where credit is due: Once again, we’re indebted to Donald Miller and his Business Made Simple University course for inspiring these ideas. Big thanks to him and his team for sharing such powerful and practical concepts.